A Wealth of PPP Opportunities! AECOM, through their Global Cities Initiative, is conducting a study of potential current and future economic opportunities and constraints and is seeking to identify potential industry clusters for the Southwestern region of the US along with Mexic.  AECOM is recommending building a transportation "spine" to support economic vitality, utilizing transportation infrastructure as a tool for directing growth.  Recommendations include expanding existing high priority highway and freight corridors and creating efficient passenger and freight mobility; providing intermodal linkages with freight facilities that can accommodate movement among highway, rail and air travel modes; and enhancing connectivity with the border to foster economic trade and tourism.  Additional strategies include the development of a multimodal system that recognizes and strengthens the relationship between land use and transportation; connects the workforce to employment centers; supports infill and revitalization; and maximizes the use of multiple modes of transportation options for regular trip making.

Our PPP Task Force will look at ways in which Public Private Partnerships might jump-start many of the opportunities identified within this vision and look to move forward initiatives that would aid in this development.

Speaker John McNamara is the Vice President/Principal and Director of Community Planning and Design with AECOM in Phoenix.  He has more than 37 years of experience working in transportation, community planning, urban design and economic development throughout the U.S.  He is a nationally recognized expert in the planning and design of high capacity roadway and transit corridors, and specializes in land use relationships with suck investments, including devising strategies to address regional urban form, smart growth, multimodal transportation, transit-oriented development, community revitalization, and context sensitive solutions.  His major award-winning project experience includes the MAG Urban Form Study and Regional Transportation Vision and Plan - 2050; the Tampa/Hillsborough County, FL, Regional High Capacity Transit Major Investment Study and Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact Study; the Grand Rapids, MI, Regional High Capacity Transit Major Investment Study; the SR-179 Corridor Development Program in Sedona; and the Arizona Statewide Transportation Planning Framework Program, including the Statewide Rail Framework Study.  Mr. McNamara has led the Global Cities Institute's Sun Corridor Team.